Brave
by elsawesterguards
Summary: So, this is a two-shot taking place in the tower. Eugene-centric. That's about it. Rated T for intense imagery and the like. Review?


**I've hit a bit of a wall with "Life Ever After," and hopefully, I'll be able to get that going again. This has been sitting in my laptop for a while, so I figured why not share it. This will be a two-shot. Enjoy, review, all that ja-ja-jazz. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with Tangled. I'm not even sure I wish I did, it would be quite the burden, what with all these authors on here coming up with crazy plans to get the rights to Tangled. I'd rather keep my imagination and run with it, thank you!**

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><p>You're a brave man, Flynn Rider. Thinking you have what it takes to come up here, to <em>my <em>tower, and take away _my_ flower, my only means of survival, taking her and leaving me here to die, alone and unloved. Yes, you, with the audacity to climb up here to this room and take a stand for your beloved Rapunzel.

No matter, though. You have gotten what you deserve, and it's only a matter of time before it sinks in. Yes, with every shallow breath you take, you only draw yourself nearer to your own demise. Every intake of breath leads to another burst in the flow of blood from the wound on your side. Every intake leads to your lungs emptying ever faster as the air flows out through the puncture placed there by the dagger. Every breath a precious drop of deep, red life-water, necessary to the very essence of your being. And most painful of all, every drop of blood that flows from your side takes you one lifetime away from her.

Yes, brave, indeed. Sacrificing one's self simply for the freedom of another, all the while knowing that there is truly nothing you can do to make it all better, in her eyes, at least. Either way, the situation is lose-lose, either you die in body and she loses you, or she dies in spirit, and you lose her. Take your pick, Flynn Rider. Whichever destiny you choose, one of you will be mine for the taking.

For you see, only I can win in this game of cat and mouse. Only I can decide who stays and who goes, and I have made my decision, but it seems others have their own wants. She can't live without you, and she refuses to do it, too, if you would just let her heal you. If you would only trust her that everything would be alright.

It would have been much simpler for you to die now, leaving Rapunzel in my caring and loving hands. It's what you want, too, if only she could see it the way you do. You only want what's best for her, what will provide her with a happy life, outside of these tower walls. You think that if she stays, she will die, too. Maybe you're right, perhaps not. Or perhaps the only thing on your mind is what would have happened to her had you allowed her to heal you. Well, since I am the woman I am, let me enlighten you. Though it's not like you can hear me at this point. You're already so far gone, it's all you can do to pick up the shard of mirror beside you on the floor and swipe it across her hair, ending me and my lifetime on this earth.

Perhaps I'd have taken her somewhere far, far away. Chained her up, left her in a basement, barely provided her with sustenance to survive. Maybe I'd have tortured her, maybe not. Maybe I would have used the same dagger I used on you to keep her at bay while I used her hair, in all of its rejuvenating glory. Maybe every once in a while I would have reveled in the same feeling I had when I put that dagger through your side, only with her instead. Maybe I would have hurt her within an inch of death, brought her back to full health and done it all over again. It all would have depended on her cooperation. You see, _I_ am a very understanding mother. It would absolutely kill me to do anything that would hurt my little flower in any way, form, or fashion. I just don't know that I could bring myself to mess with her mind, or her heart, anything, really, to make her hurt inside or out. Well, that's an obvious and complete lie, take a look at what I've done to you and, thus, in turn to her.

Oh, if only you could hear the plans I had for my flower should you have allowed her to heal you back to your full health. But, it's like I said, you can't hear me. You can barely hear your own thoughts in your own head, can barely hear her as she pleads with you to stay with her for a moment longer. Can barely hear her mutter the incantation that only moments ago would have saved you from a fate you chose just to save her.

Your death will completely devastate my flower, and maybe that's exactly what she needs. Something to make her see that she was never anything but a tool in this dump of a place we call the world. Maybe then she will see that the world truly is a dark, cruel, depressing place, full of let-downs and evil people. Maybe then she will see why I kept her hidden from the rest of the world, see why I kept her all to myself. Make her believe that it really was for her, and not for me.

Yes, Flynn Rider, I may be dead, but I am still very much alive in this tower. I _am_ this tower. I am everything that kept Rapunzel here, everything she thought the real world was. She was only too naïve to see it in the first place. She only thought I was her mother, here to love and protect her. How wrong she was.

You know that you cannot completely save her from the pain, you know that she will lose you in the process, and you know that your life is slipping away faster and faster with every passing moment. Yet as you lay, the pool of rust around you slowly intensifying in shade and width, you have no care for you. All thoughts discernable in your weakening mind are for her, and her alone. _She _must carry on, _she _must hear your finals words, _she_ was your new dream.

And as she confesses that she feels the same, you know that you can relax and finally rest in peace. You would do anything for her, gave the ultimate gift of life all for her, just so she could be free of a life full of servitude. As the aches of devastating pain die down, as that last little drop of blood finds its way out of your body, you are at peace. You know that what you did, everything you did, was all for her.

And that makes you a brave man, Flynn Rider.

**So, I honestly don't think it was really good at all. It was short and superfluous and I just don't think I did a good job at all. It really doesn't make sense, but I wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive. :)**

**Thoughts? Suggestions? Leave me a review so I can see how bad I did. Should I just stick to fluff?**

**EugeneLoverRapunzel**


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